When people think of the GameCube they probably would never think of any game with such a mature theme as Duke Nukem, but I'm here to say that yes it is coming to GameCube and yes, it is bound to be something special. If you have played the aging Duke Nukem 3D for the PC you will know what developer, 3D Realms, can do. Using a heavily revamped Unreal engine this game won't be the all-out, hands down winner of any beauty contests, but it sure will be able to turn quite a few heads. The graphics look to be coming together very good from what I have seen at E3 2001, eyes are able to move independent from the rest of the body (you have to see it to appreciate it), the lips more much more realistically than most any other first person shooter than I have seen, and the details in the weapons, characters, and levels look great. This is very much a mature game, and if you have played Duke Nukem 3D you should really know why; the blood, gore, sexually implied talk and well, there are even strippers to top it off. This is really not a game to take home for your children, but it is, perhaps, a game that lots of adults and late teens could get into, there is planned to be a real story to this game, other than the “Aliens stole our chicks” routine. If the gameplay can match the graphics and hype that Duke Nukem Forever is receiving than we may well have another Perfect Dark or Goldeneye on our hands.

The story is quite simple actually, hopefully they can expand on this idea, if not than this game could be great nonetheless. Set around Area 51, Duke Nukem's age-old enemy is at it again. Dr. Proton, an eight foot tall, incredibly strong, cybernetic villain, has taken out part of Las Vegas with a nuclear bomb, taken over Area 51 and took an alien spaceship. He is using this spacecraft to contact aliens from across the universe in order to build his personal army, along with his newfound alien buddies he has brought back the dead soldiers that he had to slaughter in order to take over Area 51. Now it is all up to Duke Nukem – once again – to stop this menace from taking over the world.

I remember back when I thought that the original, side scrolling, Duke Nukem had amazing and lifelike graphics… It's amazing how much things have changed in such a short time. Games like Quake 3: Arena, Unreal II, and the upcoming Doom 3 have such 'lifelike' graphics that it is approaching true photo-realism. Duke Nukem Forever may not be up to speed with Doom 3 or Unreal II, but it will surely have some great visuals for your eyes to feast upon. Independent moving eyes are just scratching the surface of this great looking game, if you have seen the video from the E3 2001 (PC version) you will really know what I mean. The video is simply amazing, whether it is a large rocket blasting off to destroy its target, Duke dodging traffic on the freeway, or ever a fighter jet crashing right into the air control tower you happen to be in, it all looks spectacular and doesn't look like there is any too noticeable slowdown whatsoever; if it can run like this one a PC then I'm sure the GameCube should have no problem running this at a clean sixty frames per second.

The gameplay, if it follows Duke Nukem 3D, is sure to be top notch or even push the bar up quite a bit. This new 'Nukem' game will have you driving motorcycles, controlling the machine gun in a jeep, shooting down people in a fast watercraft, and figuring out puzzles of all kinds; To what extent these puzzles will tax the mind is beyond me but I'm hopefully going to go crazy from them. The areas that you will be able to explore have never been so detailed and full of life and action; you are now able to go and come as you please, enter many different buildings. You feel like going to the desert? Go do it. Do you feel like checking out a Casino? Well, you probably get the idea.

Some other locations for you to explore include Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and of course parts of Vegas and Area 51. You will also, as I mentioned, be able to drive, ride in, or be the gunner of various vehicles… and animals. You can ride on a donkey around the desert while shooting baddies from off his back. Each vehicle or animal will react with much different yet realistic fashion. You can also go and use certain machines and gadgets, such as pinball machines; if you feel like playing a game of pinball, just go find a machine and go at it. If you are getting a bit low on health go buy yourself some food from a vending machine and eat it. Also to add to the effect of interactivity in DNF, you can shoot holes into walls, bust out some glass, blow up areas in buildings, and more. As with most any other Duke game, the weapons are a key part of the game (as if they aren't in many other games also), types of offensive tools you have at your disposal contain a pistol, shotgun, laser type weapon, rocket launcher, some type of automatic rifle, the sniper rifle, and perhaps, one of the most quirky weapon – Your foot; With your foot you will be allowed to squish smaller enemies. And if the shrink ray gun returns from Duke Nukem 3D, you will be able to shrink anything down to that adorable yet squish-able size. I am very short on multiplayer details but I'm sure that it will be something that you will have to play to believe, expect large brawls that vary from the zany, crazy and frenzied to the careful, somewhat strategic, and team battles.

Duke Nukem Forever has not been given a release date, yet many speculate that it should be slated for a mid to late 2002 release on the PC, probably following shortly after will most likely be the multi-platform releases on all the major consoles. DNF should be able to live up to the expectations of most of everyone that have been waiting for this game ever since it was announced quite a few years ago – around '97. 3D Realms has the talent, has the dedication and has the resources to pull off another one of those special kinds of games that casts awe in the gaming community.